Bridge deck rehabilitation is emerging as an increasingly
important topic in the effort to deal with the
deteriorating infrastructure. It is by far the major
rehabilitation effort in the United States of America
(USA). According to a study done by the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), the number of
deficient bridges is increasing mainly due to bridge
deterioration and increasingly heavy traffic. It is estimated
that 29% of the nation’s bridges (more than
542,000) are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
It will cost an estimated $10.6 billion a year for 20
years to eliminate bridge deficiencies (Federal Highway
Administration, FHWA 2000) [1]. Significant bridge
deck replacement, rehabilitation and strengthening efforts
are underway to decrease the number of deficient
bridges. However, the deterioration of bridges grows at
a faster rate than repairs are made. The main causes of
deterioration of concrete bridge decks are: (1) cracking
and spalling of concrete i.e. deck delamination, (2)